


Waiting...

by pherryt



Series: Mandatory Fun Day Prompts (Winterhawk) [3]
Category: Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Caretaker!Bucky, Christmas Blues, Coming back from a mission, Cuddling, Fluff, M/M, Nightmares, clints apartment in bedstuy, deaf!Clint, koala!clint, naked!clint, shower, sleepy!Clint, still an avenger
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-25
Updated: 2019-12-25
Packaged: 2021-02-26 04:08:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,260
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21957157
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pherryt/pseuds/pherryt
Summary: Bucky's still maybe a little upset at whoever decided to send Clint off on a mission over the holidays and he's hoping against hope that Clint will be home before Christmas.He doesnotexpect the sight that greeted him in their kitchen when he wakes up in the middle of the night.
Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes/Clint Barton, Winterhawk
Series: Mandatory Fun Day Prompts (Winterhawk) [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1555123
Comments: 32
Kudos: 158
Collections: Mandatory Fun Day





	Waiting...

**Author's Note:**

> The Prompt was this erm... sorta NSFW image. the story is Safe, but the image is not quite, so just click on the link
> 
> [ Clint on the Counter](https://mandatoryfunday.tumblr.com/image/189807031866)
> 
> ran a fluff prompt generator to accompany the image and got "Nightmares" and "Carry Me" cause nothing on my bingo cards was calling to me.

Unlike Clint, Bucky didn’t wake up slowly, or in stages. He didn’t wander around bleary eyed and groggy, tripping over his pants and bumping into things. When he woke, it was all at once; sometimes just waking, a gentle thing, warm and happy. Sometimes it was with a start and a nervous flicking glance around the room. But, all too often - though it was getting better – he’d wake up violently, heart pounding, hand reaching for the knife under his pillow…

Nightmares fucking sucked. 

He lay in the bed for a few moments, letting his heart settle, straining his ears, searching for any outward signs of _something wrong._ Hearing nothing, he gradually relaxed his hand, finger by finger, till he’d let go of the knife and had pushed it back under his pillow.

It might not be the wisest idea to keep a blade in the bed, but it wasn’t like he was the only one that did.

With a huff, he rolled over – and found the bed empty. He was disappointed, even though he’d known it likely would be with Clint on a mission. _But maybe..._ He patted the bed and sighed when he discovered the sheets were cold.

Which meant Clint still hadn’t gotten home. He hadn’t come in, bumbled his way to bed in an effort not to wake Bucky up and then got up for a glass of water or for the bathroom or to take lucky out.

Bucky groaned and sat up, swiping his hair back out of his face. Clint hadn’t known when they’d get back in, but his guess had been not before tomorrow afternoon, but tomorrow was Christmas, and Bucky had been hopeful.

Especially after his nightmare. His nightmares always seemed worse when Clint wasn’t around, and Clint had said more than once that his were better too when they were able to be together. Bucky was hit by the sudden, immensely strong desire to be held by Clint, or to hold Clint as close to him as possible, and his breath hitched for a second before he pulled himself back together.

Then he blinked, because Clint wasn’t there – but neither was Lucky. The dog was loyal and sweet and so fucking perceptive for a one-eyed mutt that it was amazing. And normally, he’d have been all up in Bucky’s face, licking every inch and grounding Bucky in the here and now.

But he wasn’t.

Bucky should probably check on why. And sleep was probably out of the question now, so he might as well get up, maybe reheat that soup he’d made the previous afternoon in an effort to keep busy, to not think about how it was Christmas, and Clint had been sent out on a goddamn mission.

Rolling out of bed, his feet hit the cold floor with a grimace. He stuffed them into the ridiculously pink, fuzzy bunny slippers that were way too warm and way too comfortable for Bucky to even _think_ about feeling embarrassed about.

They did their job, and they did it well. And since when was pink _not_ a color for men?

Since when did it really fuckin matter, anyway?

Feeling out of sorts and now disgruntled for no good reason (was lack of Clint a good reason?), Bucky made his way out of his and Clint’s loft and down the stairs – and froze at the bottom when his eyes fell on the vision sitting on their kitchen counter.

Clint was, in all his imperfect perfections, perched buck naked (Bucky refused to think the word stark in the same vicinity of the words Clint and Naked) on the countertop, a mug between his legs, steam rising from the Betty Boop novelty thing he’d picked up at some random hole in the wall. It was a strange change from all the Hawkeye merch Clint had, but Bucky had once dug into a couple of the odd boxes lying around when he first moved in and found that Clint actually owned loads of mismatched mugs.

“Jesus, doll, should you have your fucking coffee so close to your dick?” He shuddered at the thought of that steaming hot liquid anywhere near his _or_ Clint’s ‘sensitive bits’. _Naked_ sensitive bits.

Perking up at Bucky’s voice, Clint grinned at Bucky and gestured for him with one grabby hand. “Buck! I missed you!”

“Yeah, I can really tell,” Bucky drawled, finally setting his feet in motion again. He rounded the little island to find Lucky at Clint’s feet, happily munching on pizza. Of course. No wonder the mutt had abandoned him to bad dreams. Clint – no matter the time of day or night – always brought pizza home from a mission. “That’s why you’re still down here instead of in bed where you belong. Why the _fuck_ are you naked?”

Pouting, Clint said, “Awww, Buck, you don’t normally complain about me being naked.”

“You usually don’t just strip down in the kitchen after a mission in the middle of the night and…” Bucky looked away from the mug and its proximity to Clint’s flesh with another shudder. Nope. He was really not liking that and it wasn’t even him.

Clint nodded towards the floor, a little past Lucky. “Clothes were gooped and shredded. Didn’t want to wake you getting new ones. Besides, didn’t think you’d mind if I was wandering around naked,” he said, waggling his eyebrows in what was supposed to be a suggestive way, Bucky knew, but really only came off as goofy, with that tired smile of his.

Bucky stepped up between Clint’s legs. “Shoulda still come up and come to bed,” Bucky said, sliding his hands up Clint’s thighs, kneading as he went. Clint’s eyes closed on a groan, just as he’d reached up to push his hair out of his eyes. He needed a haircut again but Bucky kinda liked it a little long and hoped he'd keep it this time. He looked Clint over carefully, searching for any wounds, the slightest scratch, but for once there wasn’t even a single Band-Aid. There was maybe a bruise or two, but that one on his shin had been there since last week when he ran into the couch. Bucky relaxed a little.

“Yeah, but I’m the kind of exhausted right now that won’t let me fall asleep,” Clint said.

“So you thought _coffee_ was a good idea?”

“Hey,” Clint pouted. “Coffee is _always_ a good idea.”

Bucky snorted because – “No, doll, it’s really not.” He reached down for the coffee mug, using his metal hand to shift it _away_ from Clint’s dick with a wince, setting it further down the counter with a soft click. Only once it was safely away was Bucky able to relax further.

“Aw, Bucky, no…” Clint whined, but he didn’t make a move for the coffee mug, only slumped into Bucky’s shoulder.

“Jesus, doll, sure you ain’t tired enough to sleep?”

Clint whined into Bucky’s neck. He smiled fondly down at Clint, running a hand through his hair, then down Clint’s spine.

“Yeah, it’s bed time for you,” Bucky said softly.

“Nuh uh, shower first. I feel disgusting.” Bucky looked Clint up and down again, still finding nothing, but sometimes that feeling wasn’t for something physical.

Sometimes it wasn’t for the dirt and grime and blood you inevitably picked up. Sometimes it wasn’t for the gunk of dubious materials that seemed to get into your hair and stain your clothes.

Sometimes it was for the things you saw… or the things you did.

“All right, shower, then bed,” Bucky agreed gently. Clint slumped further, arms coming up to drape around Bucky’s neck, his long legs pulling Bucky in closer to wrap themselves around Bucky.

“Carry me,” Clint murmured into Bucky’s neck, the slide of his lips, the tickle of his breath causing Bucky to flush a little bit.

“Seriously? Lazy ass,” Bucky said, pretending to be put out, but he loved this, he loved taking care of Clint. Clint worked fucking hard – they all did, but in some ways he had to work harder, just to keep up, and he did a fucking amazing job, in Bucky’s opinion – so that meant Clint oftentimes didn’t have enough energy leftover to do more than the basics outside of his job.

Some of the others, like Nat, they got that, some of them didn’t. But that was okay, he had Bucky for that now.

Bucky slid his hands under Clint’s ass and hefted him up. Thank god for serums and metal arms that could bench press a tank, cause Clint was heavy enough to make a normal man stagger. He was taller than Bucky and it must look a sight to see the taller man latched on to Bucky like a fucking koala.

Not that anyone would see it outside the possibility of Natasha, since she had her own keys and her own whims.

Or Hawkeye, actually, who tended to drop by unannounced whenever she wanted to supposedly check on Lucky (but they all knew it was Clint. And maybe Lucky too. Okay definitely both) or even steal Lucky away for a day or a week or more.

Or, y’know, anyone in the tower whenever Clint forgot he wasn’t at home and went wandering around in the middle of the night.

Fuck, now that he thought about it, Clint was too often in a way that would let other people beside Bucky view his ass and other fine features.

He’d have to think about what to do about that at some point. Right now, it was most important to get Clint squared away. There was a bathroom off the kitchen, but it was just the kind for guests to use. The proper bathroom was up the stairs and off the bedroom in the loft. Bucky made his way carefully up the stairs and across the loft, stepping into the bathroom. He made to sit Clint down on the closed toilet seat but Clint whined, his hands tightening around Bucky’s neck, his legs spasming as he refused to let go of Bucky.

Okay, bad mission it was, then.

Carefully, Bucky pushed aside the shower curtain and reached past Clint to turn on the water, carefully nudging the wonky knob to the right temperature as it spit out water before settling in to a proper spray.

“Okay, doll, I’m thinkin’ I can’t let you shower by yourself,” Bucky said, running his hands along Cint’s sides. “You’re tired enough I think you’d find away to impale yourself on the soap bar. So I’m gonna join you, but you gotta let go so I can get undressed first, okay?”

Clint nodded but it was obvious that he was still reluctant to let go of Bucky. With a little more coaxing, a few soft kisses to Clint’s forehead and cheek - Bucky removing his hearing aids and carefully setting them aside - and Clint was finally standing on his own two feet while Bucky was quickly stripping his clothes off, starting with his shirt, toeing off the slippers at the same time before dropping his borrowed sweat pants –

When Clint wasn’t there, the next best thing was immersing himself in Clint’s scent, imagining being in his embrace.

It wasn’t weird, okay?

Besides, Clint did it too.

Soon enough, Bucky stepped into the shower and under the hot, hot spray, tugging Clint with him. Clint swayed on his feet, wobbling unsteadily and Bucky kept him up, kept him from falling over onto his face. He took his time washing Clint’s hair, then lathering up his skin, from the back of his neck to the last little toe.

By the time he was done, Clint was a boneless thing that flopped in whatever direction Bucky pointed him in. Drying him off first, Bucky didn’t even bother dressing either of them before he guided Clint out of the bathroom and to the bed. Settling him under the blankets first, Bucky climbed into his own side of the bed, Clint instinctively rolling into him, reaching out for him blindly. Bucky’s heart was filled with love for the blonde disaster in his arms, every little sound and movement endearing as fuck.

Just as Bucky slid the blanket up over himself and Clint, tucking his arms around Clint with a pure satisfaction he never could have believed he could have again, he heard a whine from the stair. Lucky stood there, head cocked, waiting for permission to jump up onto the bed, more polite than Clint even, at times.

Bucky patted the bed and, with a tail waggle and a happy yip, Lucky leaped up, turned a few times and then settled into the space at their feet with happy little snuffle.

Smiling, Bucky settled in as well, keeping Clint tucked in as best as possible.

Despite his previous protests about being too sleepy to sleep, Cint nodded off almost as soon as his head hit the pillow. Bucky held him close, lips pressing once more into his forehead and his cheek, watching the smile curve on Clint’s lips.

This was the good life, Clint Barton’s odd quirks and all, with good friends, a space of their own, a dog by their side.

Besides, Bucky knew he had more than his fair share of odd quirks - some decidedly more dangerous than just odd. But he and Clint made it work.

With a happy little sigh, Bucky fell asleep, Clint safe and sound in his arms and Lucky guarding (ha!) their feet. When they woke, it would be Christmas, and all Bucky had wanted was Clint, home, safe and sound.

**Author's Note:**

> MERRY CHRISTMAS to all of you who celebrate it!  
> otherwise, happy whatever holiday you choose - failing that, i hope you have a good season :D
> 
> [ Rebloggable Tumblr link here](https://pherryt.tumblr.com/post/189864472081/waiting-marvel-a-mandatoryfunday-prompt-nsfw)


End file.
